D7C qItI'tinga' (Great Powerful Conqueror) Class
The latest refit of the venerable D7 design, the qItI'tinga' is the workhorse of the Empire, being an integral part of most military operations. Whilst technologically not as advanced as some of her counterparts in other powers, the qItI'tinga' makes up for this with a rugged reliability. She has also proven to be a solid platform for other variants. Development The original D7 qItI'tinga' (Great Powerful Conqueror) Class was designed as a replacement for the ageing D6A Kl'ar (Leader) Class. The Kl'ar had already proven to be increasingly obsolescent by the late 2230s and a larger, more capable Cruiser was required. Essentially a scaled up and "fleshed out" D6A, the D7 out performed her smaller progenitor in every way. She was faster, more heavily armed, more heavily armoured and shielded and possessed the latest in sensor technology available to the Klingon Empire at that time. Given her basis on a proven design, the introduction of the D7 proceeded quickly beginning in 2242. Production was accelerated, as were withdrawals of the D6A, following the disastrous incursions into Federation space in 2244, 2246 and most seriously in 2248 at the Battle of Bernard. Complete replacement had occurred by 2250, with 2/3rds of the D6A's in service being transferred to the Romulan Star Empire and the remainder being converted for specialised duties. In 2255, after the acquisition of Cloaking Technology from the Romulans, the qItI'tinga' received her first refit, becoming the D7A. Captains were ordered to only engage or disengage the Cloaking Device when outside of Federation sensor range, so as to keep the device a secret from Starfleet Intelligence. This directive was followed successfully for many years, and Federation analysts were unaware of the usage of Cloaking Devices by the Klingon Empire until the beginning of the 2270s. Further refinement to the qItI'tinga' design came in 2264 with the fitting of Heavy Disruptors in place of one pair of standard Disruptors. This gave the resulting D7B considerable forward firepower, able to go toe-to-toe with the Federation Constitution Class. The many stand-offs of the 2260s between the Klingon Defence Force and Starfleet nearly always involved these two classes, although even in the 4-Day War of 2266 they never truly faced off against each other, one or the other withdrawing before a killing blow could be dealt. In 2270, the qItI'tinga' was refit into her current, D7C form. This involved a considerable overhaul of all internal and external systems. Construction of new vessels was also authorised to replace losses in the 2260s and to bolster the strength of the KDF. The new refit was also explicitly designed to be more powerful than the Federation Constitution Class, although little did the designers know that she herself was being refit into a more powerful form at that same time. A larger and even more powerful design based on the qItI'tinga' was on the drawing boards however. After encountering the newly refit USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), a Constitution Class Refit, this design was authorised and became the C7 Qo'NoS (Kronos) Class Battlecruiser. Another design from this period based on the qItI'tinga' was the D7M Suvwl' QeH (Warrior's Anger) Class Command Cruiser. This highly modified D7B then provided a basis for another specialised design, the D7T mek'Leth (Shortsword) Class Torpedo Cruiser. Other designs based on the qItI'tinga' planform included the D7Q Chava'Kal (Poisoned Barb) Class Assault Transport, the D7F BehK'TaH (Lifeblood) Class Cargo Freighter and the D7U tuQ'jaCh (Brave Settler) Class Colony Ship. Operational History The combat debut of the new D7C standard qItI'tinga' was very unfortunate. Three Cruisers, lead by the IKS Amar, intercepted and attacked the entity later known as V'Ger. The three ships were completely obliterated. Though V’Ger was an incredibly powerful entity, the ease of their destruction still hurt galactic opinion of the strength of the Klingon Defence Force and had a variety of repercussions throughout the High Council and upper command of the KDF. During the political scramble the High Council ordered new production of the qItI'tinga' to be slowed and halted further D7C refits to existing D7B Cruisers until her effectiveness could be reviewed. However, once the Imperial Intelligence Service brought back data on the Federation encounter with V’Ger the situation eased and production returned to normal. The qItI'tinga' saw extensive combat operations during the Organian Conflict. Here she proved superior to most Federation types encountered, and a good match for the Constitution Class Refit. Losses were taken of course, but they were well within expected margins. In the subsequent War of Pacification, qItI'tinga' Class ships proved more vulnerable than their Federation counterparts to the firepower of the Interstellar Concordium. Her Cloaking Device however enabled her to more forcefully control when and where an engagement would take place, often offsetting her firepower disadvantage. The greatest combat losses for the type came during the Ormong of 2291. qItI'tinga' Class ships were used by all sides and losses were accordingly heavy. Production was ramped up to compensate, although with the General War that followed, the number of ships in operational service remained somewhat constant. Apocrypha After the loss of the Tal'Ihnor Gates System and the devastating Praxis Incident, production of Capital Ships for the KDF slowed dramatically. With the coming of the Khitomer Accords of 2293, the need for a massive fleet passed, and the qItI'tinga' became one of the largest ships still in production. The D7C type continued in front line service until the 2350s, albeit as a Light Cruiser. She was officially retired in favour of a "new" design, the D12 Koloth Class, but most D7Cs in service were refit to this design, and the name "qItI'tinga' " remained the common name for the type. Specifications * Class: 'Heavy Cruiser * 'Hull Type Designation: '''KCA * '''Length: 244m * Crew: 340 * Warp Nacelles: '''2 * '''Maximum Sublight Speed: 3300 k/s (33 Mk/s) * Cruise Warp Factor Speed: wf 7.5 * Safe Maximum Warp Factor Speed: wf 9.1 * Hull Rating: '280 HSF * 'Shield Rating: 380 FSP * Sensor Rating: 600 SRU * Armament and Equipment: ** Primary *** 2 × Disruptor Cannon ** Secondary *** 1 × Photon Torpedo Tube ** Heavy *** 2 × Heavy Disruptor Cannon ** Advanced *** None ** Equipment *** Tractor Beam Emitter *** Klingon-Type Cloaking Device *** Probes *** 1 × D'ktagh (Dagger) Shuttle Ships in Service (2292) IKS Poj'qumpa IKS Begh'poQ IKS Blortlh IKS Chong'pogh IKS Deb'choS IKS Duy'Hub IKS Gho'be' IKS GhoH'Sot IKS Hob'DIS IKS Hurgh'ragh IKS Luq'argh IKS MajQa'be' IKS NaS'puchpa' IKS Qo'LiS'be IKS Tr'loth IKS Tar'be IKS Wuv'a'tem IKS Var'cHaQ IKS R'Onq IKS K't'suka IKS Begh'poQ IKS GhoH'Sot IKS Ko'VaQ IKS Qit'uQ IKS qit'in'choS IKS SoD IKS quvSuD IKS T'GraQoTh IKS yav pIQ IKS qopaw Category:Klingon Vessels Category:Cruisers Category:Heavy Cruisers